Do It: Todd Huston to speak at RSD

Mountain climber Todd Huston lost his right leg in a boating accident at age 14. He has climbed the highest peaks in all 50 states and will visit Rochester School for the Deaf this week.(Photo: Provided photo)

For the past several weeks students at the Rochester School for the Deaf have been building models of mountains: Mauna Kea; Mt. Denali; Mt. Marcy and Mt. Whitney. ¶ They represent the highest peaks of each state — peaks they may one day climb, just like the man they are building the models in honor of: Todd Huston. ¶ Huston, who will visit the Rochester School for the Deaf this week, holds the world record for climbing the highest elevation of each state in the shortest time — 66 days, 22 hours and 47 minutes. ¶ But what makes that feat even more impressive is the fact that Huston is an amputee.

"I was born with a cleft palate, a speech impediment and hearing problems and I lost my leg," said Huston during a phone interview from his home in Oklahoma. "But I make my living speaking about mountain climbing. You can never look at things at face value."

Huston's is an incredible story that he shares with students around the world — not so that they will climb mountains in a literal sense, but move mountains.

"My message is not about mountain climbing, but overcoming challenges," Huston said. "We all have challenges we need to overcome and they come in many different forms."

Huston's challenges began at birth.

He was born with a cleft palate and could not hear out of one ear. At age 7 he underwent ear surgery — something that seemed like a major challenge at the time, but paled in comparison to what happened to him at age 14.

"A lot of problems I thought were big problems in my life when I was a child became nonexistent after getting hit by the boat," said Huston, recalling the accident at age 14 when his leg got caught in the propeller of a boat.

Huston, who almost died and ultimately had to have his leg amputated, was told he might never walk again. That prognosis was something that shook him to the core.

"As a child when you're dealing with a physical issue like deafness or loss of a leg you're not just dealing with physical issues," Huston said. "You're dealing with the emotional aspect too. It affects so many areas of your life."

Before his accident, Huston was an active boy — he enjoyed hiking, camping, and playing football. But, in the years that followed, that changed.

"It was only a dream to go hiking and camping again," said Huston, who is his 20s became a psychotherapist and clinical director of the Amputee Resource Center in California.

But, in his 30s he made a decision that would change his life — he would climb mountains. The highest mountains in each state.

"I had to get in shape," Huston recalled. "I hadn't really exercised in many years and had not run since my injury."

As he got his body ready, he also prepared his mind and that was what he believes ultimately fueled his accomplishment.

"Going into it I really had no idea what I was getting into," Huston said. "It wasn't just about climbing or hiking, it was really about the fighting spirit within."

He no longer sees his accident as a question of "Why?" but a conduit to ask "Why not?"

"You can ask yourself 'Why?' something bad happened, but you won't receive that answer until it not only blesses you but others," Huston said. "No matter what you're going through you have a gift, you have a talent to share."

Emma Doughty, 11, of Hilton has been learning about Huston and building mountain models at the Rochester School for the Deaf in anticipation of his visit.

She understands some of the challenges he faced and is excited about his upcoming visit to Rochester.

"I am deaf and sometimes I feel like I have to prove to myself and to others that I can do anything," said Doughty, herself an athlete who swims with the Greece-Spencerport Marlins Swim Club. "I am looking forward to meeting him."

Huston, who wrote More Than Mountains: The Todd Huston Story, hopes to do some indoor rock climbing with students during his visit, which is part of the school's 21st annual Adventures in Education event.

The event provides two days of interactive, educational experiences for the 123 deaf and hard of hearing students from western and central New York who attend RSD and culminates in a reception and presentation by Huston that is open to the community on Thursday evening.